WASHINGTON – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sought federal help Monday on border security and equipment shortages affecting the California National Guard because of deployments to Iraq.

Schwarzenegger, in Washington for a meeting of the National Governors Association, joined with other governors to press for more money to improve infrastructure.

Overseas deployment – mostly to Iraq – has worsened existing equipment shortages afflicting the California National Guard. The Guard has some 200 trucks, Humvees and other items overseas, representing about 5 percent of its total equipment pool. It also is about to lose all 12 of its Chinook helicopters to other states to make up for aircraft those units have sent to war zones.

“I think it is not fair to the state for the federal government to go into a war situation and then to take from us the equipment,” Schwarzenegger said. “Every time our National Guards leave, they take with them equipment, but they don’t bring it back. So there’s only so long they can do that.”

The Guard’s response capability in California has not been affected so far, but that could change if a major disaster strikes, said Lt. Col. Jon Siepmann, a Guard spokesman.

Overall, the Guard is 40 percent to 60 percent below its authorized equipment level because of long-standing shortages in federal provisions and money, Siepmann said.

Schwarzenegger also met Monday with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to push for that partnership between the Guard and the Border Patrol to continue. Schwarzenegger said the objective of adding 6,000 new Border Patrol agents has not been met.